Image File Formats

File format used by the Analyze™ package (see High-Dynamic Range Images below).

BMP is a standard, bit-mapped graphics format used in the Windows. BMP files store graphics in a format called device-independent bitmap (DIB) without applying any compression.

BMP is a standard, bit-mapped graphics format used in the Windows. Bitmap images, also called raster images, use a grid of small squares known as pixels to represent images. Each pixel is assigned a specific location and color value. When writing RGBA color fields, the alpha channel will be discarded. When reading BMP images an alpha value of 255 (full opacity) will be assumed.

BMP files store graphics in a format called device-independent bitmap (DIB) without applying any compression.

A format used by ZEISS microscopes to save data, such as image stacks and time lapse series. Available for Dragonfly Pro only. Contact Object Research Systems for information about the availability of Dragonfly Pro.

Device-Independent Bitmap (DIB) is a Windows-defined image format specification. It is called device-independent because of its straightforward, common denominator format. It has all the information that a basic digital image needs and is laid out in a simple specification. Its simplicity makes it an ideal format for holding images that need to be shared by several programs.

The main purpose of device independent bitmaps (DIBs) is to allow bitmaps to be moved from one device to another, in contrast to a Windows’ device-dependent BMPs. It stores color data for each pixel in the image without any compression.

Is an efficient vehicle for transmitting large volumes of gridded meteorological data to automated centers over high-speed telecommunication lines using modern protocols. By packing information into the GRIB code, records can be compacted to increase the speed of computer-to-computer transmissions. GRIB can equally well serve as a data storage format, generating the same efficiencies relative to information storage and retrieval devices.

JPEG is a standard format which can be used to store RGB and grayscale images in a compressed form.

JPEG is a standard format which can be used to store RGB and grayscale images in a highly compressed form. Short for Joint Photographics Experts Group, the committee that created the JPG standard. The JPG format is lossy compressed according to a quality value, which can range from 100 — the highest quality, but also the largest file size — down to 1, which creates a poor quality, small file. JPGs can have millions of colors.

WARNING The JPEG format uses lossy compression that can lead to artifacts that are not compatible with quantitative analyzes. As such, this format should only be used for presentation purposes.

NIFTI is a file format for the exchange of neuro imaging data. NIFTI data objects can consist of two files, an HDR file containing the header information and an IMG file which contains the raw image data. Both files should be stored together. A dedicated file extension NII is also available for storing the header and the data in the same file.

The Portable Float Map (PFM) file format is a high dynamic range (HDR) image file format, and is a popular format for storing and exchanging HDR image data.

RAW is a basic file format that saves the active image or stack as raw pixel data without a header. 8-bit images are saved as unsigned bytes, unsigned 16-bit images are saved as unsigned shorts and signed 16-bit images. 32-bit images are saved as floats and RGB images are saved in three bytes per pixel (24-bit interleaved) format. 16-bit and 32-bit (float) images are saved using big-endian byte order. Suitable for transferring files between applications and computer platforms. When saving RAW files in Dragonfly, header information is saved in an accompanying DAT file.